The Review

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Saturday, June 21, 2014

Hey, we've been around the block a couple of times by now. Experience tells us that we're headed into quite an election cycle when we're already waking to the sound of Hillary Clinton warbling on about Benghazi, YouTube videos and the fog of war a full two years before the big show. Hillary in response to Bret Baier's specific questions about Benghazi:

"This was the fog of war. The confusion you get in any type of combat situation. Remember this was an attack that went on for hours…there had to be a lot of sorting out…everyone said here's what we know subject to change."

That's like moonshine smooth, darlin'.

Can we assume this represents the kind of answers we can expect to receive from the most articulate woman in the world once she's elected president? Talk about your fog of war…I think Hillary defines it.

Lesson learned. The deadly drones to which Americans should be paying closest attention right now are not the ones flying over our heads gathering aggregate data on seventy year old renegade grandmas who gave money to Americans for Prosperity. They are the ones that come out of the Clinton excuse collective that are used serenade the American voters with painfully slow, carefully measured responses that would make Al Gore's cow flatulence concerns seem like a breath of fresh air.

To that end, I'm fearful that we are headed for an epic three-peat of liberal victory over common sense because the Left has already proven it could nominate Simon Legree and still manage to get him elected with a 60% approval rating and a general opinion that he's a nice guy – especially since the GOP establishment would feel compelled to nominate someone only a little less Simon Legree to demonstrate their willingness to move closer to the center. And that three-peat will have a devastating influence on our national story for generations to come unless we start approaching the problem by circumventing Washington.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

So said Ronald Reagan, but he didn't mention what Americans should do when the arterial branches of government become so clogged with build-up that the fresh blood of freedom and innovation can no longer flow through the heartland and into the body politic. The lifespan of America is being threatened by a bloated, poorly circulating bureaucracy and it will take a grassroots effort to turn that around.

Yes – by all means – give money and donate your time to the people that will fight for your cause on your behalf; that's great. But we've seen time and again that once these people are in a position where they can affect change, they moderate and lose touch with their constituencies. I shudder to think of the people that I considered Reaganites who have become so indistinguishable from the so-called opposition that they find themselves aligning with the Leftwing to take on those seventy year old renegade grandmas who gave money to Americans for Prosperity.

The fight must be waged though circumvention of power because power will too often corrode the best intentions of the noblest souls.

So the solution is that we must spread the word of American Exceptionalism through education, actions and opportunity.

Education is first: Conservative parents must collectively be active in the schooling of their children – and not necessarily by pulling them out of the system and homeschooling because most families cannot afford to do that and must keep their kids in the system. Instead, they must make the time to understand the curriculum being taught to their kids and they must be willing to politely confront administrators over the devastating content that passes for syllabus.

I promise you, some examples of misinformation are so shocking and egregious that it won't take much to chasten the purveyors of propaganda when misinformation rears its ugly head. Just a few calmly worded inquiries into how certain decisions were made regarding content and many school administrators – who may not even realize their own bias – begin to see their actions from someone else's perspective and become humbled.

It's time to open the doors and windows of our schools and let the fresh air in.

Action is second: One thing that is extremely useful in promoting Exceptionalism is actually one of the easiest and least expensive things that you can do. It's as simple as this. If you see a young person doing something well, point it out. We get so caught up in what is wrong with the Millennials that we forget to notice what is right.

That young lady at the drive-thu window that went out of her way to cheerfully perform her duties, the young man that held the door for you instead of rushing through and slamming it in your face…tell them you appreciate it. If you see a young employee performing his or her duties in a way that pleases you, take the time to contact the corporate office and tell them you respect a company that invests so well in the training our national workforce. It's an inexpensive and effective way to positively reinforce that there is a right way and a wrong way to do a job and that there's no such thing as a job that's beneath us.

Opportunity is third: The power the Left holds and wields over certain voting blocs relies heavily on their monopoly over social welfare which grants philanthropy a mystical quality that it doesn't deserve. Leftists have controlled the national dialog on economic growth for so long because they successfully segregate the population by posing as sole authorities on the subject of opportunity.

Education is again a prime example of this. Liberals fought the war for the hearts and minds of Americans by inserting themselves into positions of authority in our nation's universities. They then obliterated any diversity of thought and set about educating the educators who learned that success only comes through the benevolence of a strong, intrusive government. Those educators then moved into primary and secondary education, expunged diversity of thought there and now prey upon the minds of our children.

It's the same with the impoverished neighborhoods of America's inner cities. The Left long ago began forcing underprivileged individuals into generational poverty by under-educating them, robbing them of strong, two-parent family units and hooking them on social programs that perpetuate misery while maintaining that this was the only way out of poverty. Then they blame conservatives for the disastrous outcomes and ask for more money.

It would be an interesting social experiment to see what would happen if conservatives just started crashing the Keynesian party that we are constantly funding but never attending…not legislatively, mind you. Lord knows the world would be a better place with a little less legislation. No, I'm thinking about a Jack Kemp solution to the problem but with a twist. But first there's this from Before It's News:

"President Obama endorsed the idea of "promise zones," a variation of the old Republican idea of enterprise zones. These new zones—located in San Antonio, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Southeastern Kentucky and the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma—will receive intensive federal support, together with state and local initiatives, to raise growth and employment. "

Sounds like a great idea, but it won't work because it will turn this simple concept of investment into yet another entitlement program. Rather than being a results oriented, pro-business opportunity, it will become Barack Obama playing Santa Claus with other people's money. At best, "promise zones" will be a dysfunctional redistributive program used to build the false argument that capitalism doesn't work and at worst they will be new and exciting avenues for crony capitalists to get into bed with the Democrat Party.

That doesn't mean that the late Jack Kemp's idea won't work. But it would require individuals and companies to decide that there's no part of town that's so bad that it's best left to government to fix. If we want a return of the American dream, it will require private investment, and it will have to be rediscovered by "we the people" and not another government agency.

Done properly, enterprise zones could open up the dead-ends that too many lives have wandered down. True achievement would require successful business people – on their own with no government involvement whatsoever – tearing down the fiefdoms of social justice and offering unexpected opportunities for the less fortunate so that anyone who works hard and smart may become a contributing member of society through apprenticeships and low interest loans for startup businesses rather than handouts.

The reason that these privately funded enterprise zones would necessarily be successful where government will fail is because businessmen understand that businesses must be profitable and results oriented or they will be out of business very quickly.

Before Arnold Schwarzenegger became a Kennedy and therefore a RINO, he once commented on his unusual choice of political affiliation:

"I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free enterprise, getting government off your back, lowering taxes and strengthening the military. Listening to Nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air. I said to my friend, "What party is he?" My friend said, "He's a Republican." I said, "Then I am a Republican!""

That simple sentiment of optimism that Schwarzenegger communicated is nothing more than owner's manual for the American dream. Ultimately, conservatives must be determined to remove the veil of mysticism that the Left produces when it controls people through programs. We must stop putting all our hopes and dreams into the next election and take it upon ourselves to prove that the American dream is alive for those who dare to reach for it.

Comments

Hey, we've been around the block a couple of times by now. Experience tells us that we're headed into quite an election cycle when we're already waking to the sound of Hillary Clinton warbling on about Benghazi, YouTube videos and the fog of war a full two years before the big show. Hillary in response to Bret Baier's specific questions about Benghazi:

"This was the fog of war. The confusion you get in any type of combat situation. Remember this was an attack that went on for hours…there had to be a lot of sorting out…everyone said here's what we know subject to change."

That's like moonshine smooth, darlin'.

Can we assume this represents the kind of answers we can expect to receive from the most articulate woman in the world once she's elected president? Talk about your fog of war…I think Hillary defines it.

Lesson learned. The deadly drones to which Americans should be paying closest attention right now are not the ones flying over our heads gathering aggregate data on seventy year old renegade grandmas who gave money to Americans for Prosperity. They are the ones that come out of the Clinton excuse collective that are used serenade the American voters with painfully slow, carefully measured responses that would make Al Gore's cow flatulence concerns seem like a breath of fresh air.